Other Side of the Coin
by nOnymOus
Summary: So how come it took Orlando a long time before he complained to his brother? [slight AU, different ending] oliverxorlando


All right. I hate Shakespeare but I will admit: I will be his fan for life. That is why I am going to dedicate this fanfic not only to the Juniors but also to him. Go Shakespeare! Go slash :D

Warning: This contains slash. Boy slash. Incest boy slash. For those who hate the combination of any of them, you know what to do.

Disclaimer: I. Own. Nothing. Except. For. The. Plot.

--- means a time lapse.

---

Orlando sat comfortably on the cart. He leaned his back against the small pile of hay behind him. The others about him shifted with nervousness. He paid no heed to them though. Except for the soft chattering and the sound the horse and the cart made, everything was quiet. Orlando loved the silence. It reminded him of the times when the world would shrink to his and Oliver's.

"Pardon me for asking, but aren't you worried?"

Orlando averted his gaze from the view. He took in the man's appearance: tall and lean. He even looked the same age as Oliver. The man coughed.

"Er… forgive me. No, I am not worried at all," Orlando quickly replied.

"Why not, though? We are all going to be executed right before the townspeople. Duke Frederick is a very cruel animal," the man commented, anger visible in his voice. He then took a quick glance at the soldiers behind them, as if they heard their almost whispered conversation.

Orlando shrugged. "Oliver will come." His mind was already flying back to his brother.

Though Oliver was the reason why Orlando was captured, he trusted his brother. He knew that Oliver would not let him die even if he made him go through a lot of unpleasant things. His mind started drifting back to the days when their father was still alive.

**-Flashback-**

Orlando followed his brother inside their father's den. The great thing about their father's den was that it hardly resembled a den at all. It had the structure of a miniature library. It was small enough to supervise but big enough to let two boys slip by, unnoticed. Especially if the elder was just sixteen, the other fourteen.

Orlando used to hate doing that. He was always so hesitant to detach himself from the world and enter a new one that consisted of only himself and his brother. He hated the intimacy and secluded ness and the guilt he carried. He would occasionally find himself thinking about their world in a dream-like state. But then he would drop a fork, bump into a tree, trip over a bucket and he would shy away into reality, the guilt increasing inside.

Orlando let himself be pulled in between two shelves where no light penetrated into. Fingers worked their way to undo all of his buttons and sweet verses were murmured in his ear before it was nipped at. Orlando mewled. He grabbed hold of what article of clothing Oliver wore and pulled his brother closer to his body, relishing the closeness of their bodies.

Now, his feelings changed. He no longer dreaded the moment. He no longer hesitated in the shadows of his father's den where everyone thought they were studying together. In fact, Orlando longed for each moment. Now that they were older, responsibilities got in their way. Finding time for one another was hard especially for Oliver. However, Fate was still kind to allot an hour or two for each other before either had to leave. Once, Orlando, possessed by recklessness, dragged his brother into the stable. Lucky for them nobody came.

Oliver kissed Orlando tenderly before pulling away. Orlando was dizzy with love and resisted to pull away. He would have prayed, if he was Christian, for things to stay as it was. However, since he learned that what he did was taboo, he secretly dropped out of the religion. Instead, he wished to anyone who heard his silence for things to stay as they were.

---

Orlando should have prayed, that he realized as he shoved out of his brother's room. The door slammed in mighty anger and he heard his brother's muffled yell, "Go to your room and leave me alone dammit!"

Ever since his father died, Oliver had been the one who took charge of the manor. Ever since his father died, Oliver had changed in personality and it alarmed Orlando. Gone were the days when his brother was all about giving and showering him with love. Gone were the days when the spent their times in secluded corners. Now his brother acted like he had a split personality.

Take last month for example. Before his father died, Orlando, along with Oliver and Jacques, another sibling, were all home schooled. Now that his father died, he sent Jacque to some private school in the neighboring town. What about Orlando though? Well, Oliver kept him home. Worse, he even treated his brother as a personal servant and bid him to be beside him to accomplish every task he demanded.

When Orlando first asked his brother why he left Orlando at home, all his brother did was slapped him and yelled at him for asking such a stupid question. As Orlando tried to sleep away the pain he felt inside, he heard the door to his room open and close as Oliver entered. Orlando had watched his brother lay next to him and craddle his body, apologizing over and over.

"I just never want to be away from you," was all his brother had said.

Orlando sighed as he slipped off his shirt. He did not need a mirror to see the already forming bruises. He would have all night feeling them as he tossed and turned about in his sleep. He sat on his bed and leaned his back against the cool wall. How long has it been since he was able to get a good night's rest? he silently mused.

The creaked open. Orlando kept his eyes closed. He knew who it was.

Oliver grimaced at the sight of his brother. He tried no to look at the green bruises forming as he sat beside his brother and remained silent with him.

**-End Flashback-**

Orlando wished the crowd's jeering would stop. It was a too nice day to be noisy. He scanned the crowds, trying to look for a familiar face. He found a lot but not the one he wanted. He frowned. Maybe his brother really meant for him to be captured and hanged.

---

"I cannot believe you waited until I was about to die."

Oliver merely chuckled. "I love you too much to let you die, why would I do that?"

"So why did you follow Duke Frederick's orders?"

Oliver would have shrugged if he was not trying to gallop away from the soldiers. "For the money, of course. We had to have some money if I was going to break the law."

"...I love you too."

-----

End! Wow, the ending is so pathetic, I'd shoot myself if I wasn't aiming to get into college xP


End file.
